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July 6, 2008

Data: 14,000 U.K. Knife Victims in 2007

by Sam Savage

Nearly 14,000 people in the United Kingdom sought medical attention in 2007 for injuries caused by knives or other sharp weapons, figures reveal.

Hospital admissions data from Britain, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland show that in 2007 a total of 13,795 people received medical services for knife or other sharp weapon wounds, The Independent reported Sunday.

Among that total were 446 individuals below the age of 14, the British newspaper said.

In addition, recent Health Department statistics show that each day in Britain an average of 38 people receive medical services for knife wounds.

Dr. Tunji Lasoye, King's College Hospital accident and emergency consultant, said while the number of knife wounds has been increasing, the age of those being treated has declined.

It used to be that we would see isolated cases at weekends, but now it is nearly every day of the week. And the age of the victims has gone down, he told The Independent. We used to see people in their early 20s; now they are in their mid-teens. And 10 percent of the victims we see now are girls, which wasn't the case four or five years ago.